Slate Roof Installation Course

Introduction to Installing Natural Quarried Roofing Slate

Latest News: We are constructing a year-round, heated, air-conditioned classroom facility and will soon be able to offer classes during the winter months. Completion is expected in spring 2024. 

Only 4 persons per class. Class is not initiated until the enrollment is full. Call to schedule (814-786-9085).

Duration: Approximately 9 hours, including break.   

Location:  Western Pennsylvania, USA.  

This course is taught by Joe Jenkins, author of the Slate Roof Bible and Executive Director of the Slate Roofing Contractors Association. It runs from about 9 am until about 6 pm with a 1 hour break between roughly 1 and 2 pm. Local restaurants and hotels are minutes away. Address: 143 Forest Ln. Grove City, PA 16127 (near Barkeyville, PA). GPS Joseph Jenkins Inc.  

Course Delivery Type: Live; 8 LUs (AIA Learning Units); Level: Introductory; Language: English

This official Slate Roofing Contractors Association introductory course combines approximately 3 hours of classroom instruction with approximately 5 hours of hands-on training on a roof mockup, and covers the basic installation standards, information, and procedures for correctly and successfully installing natural slate on roofs. You will be cutting, punching, and trimming slates using a variety of tools specific to the trade. You will be nailing roofing slates to a wood deck with roofing nails and integrating the slates with various flashings, including step flashings, valley flashings, apron flashings, and ridge copper.  

The course is limited to 4 students on a double-sided mockup (two on each side). Students who successfully complete the course receive a "Certificate of Completion" from the SRCA.  

Tools: We supply tools for the course, but if you want to use your own, buy this basic tool set and pick it up when you arrive, or we will ship it to you (free shipping) beforehand.

Prerequisite Knowledge: Basic construction and roofing knowledge is beneficial, but not necessary.

See list of course graduates.    

Learning Objectives: Learn how to successfully install a natural quarried slate roof that will function for up to a century or two. Learn about common mistakes made by inexperienced installers and how to avoid them. Learn how to cut, punch, shape, and work with natural stone roofing using standard tools of the trade. Learn how basic flashing systems work with slate roofing and the various ways they can be installed. Learn about all the different types of slate that may be found on the North American market today. Learn about different installation styles, fasteners, substrates, underlayment, roof staging, headlap, starter courses, and many other details relating to slate roofing. 

Course Handouts: SRCA Slate Roof Installation Training Manual (161 pages) ,  Slate Roof Bible, 3rd Edition (374 pages), Slate Roofs 1926 (130 pages). If you register for both courses, you will be discounted $100 since you won't need a second copy of the Slate Roof Bible and Slate Roofs 1926.    

Cost: Call for Pricing.

A supervisor, foreman, boss, etc., can sit in with the crew and audit the course at no extra charge. Persons auditing the course will not receive the course handouts, will not be able to conduct any hands-on training, nor will be eligible for a Certificate of Completion.